Shipyard adds $500m boost to region's economy

KITTERY, Maine — The number of employees and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard's economic impact on the region continue to grow on a wave of increasing work.

The Seacoast Shipyard Association released its annual Portsmouth Naval Shipyard economic impact for calendar year 2010 Thursday. The shipyard employed 5,168 with a civilian payroll of $395,166,516 and an additional $39,939,431 in military payroll last year. Those numbers include overtime, but not benefits.

Retired shipyard commander Capt. Bill McDonough called the total expenditures of the shipyard of more than $500 million "extraordinary."

The shipyard's increase in the number of both employees and expenditures continues a trend of growth that began in 1999.

The level of employment, said McDonough, is directly related to the amount of work done at the shipyard. He also pointed to the reduced number of shipyards, now down to four, and the addition of work on the new Virginia class submarines as positives for the future of the yard.

"We've got a good working ship that's not likely to be put out of commission," McDonough said of the Virginia. "And you cannot ignore the routine maintenance. The work looks favorable for the foreseeable future."

In addition, McDonough said the report also shows that those working at the shipyard are traveling greater distances to get there.

"They're moving farther way from Kittery and Portsmouth," he said. "Most of that can be attributed to the cost of real estate."